Considering its irreverent sense of humour and distinctive animation, an obvious tagline for The District! might be “the Eastern European ‘South Park’.” Guaranteed to ruffle the feathers of art-house snobs, this deft satire isn’t afraid to cross the line on topics of race, politics, sex and social status. It also features shifting, amorphous figures and the cheeky juxtaposition of two-dimensional and three-dimensional, traditional and digital animation styles that are a welcome change from the cyber-realistic polish of Hollywood animated features. To top it off, the whole thing is set to the head-bopping sounds of Hungarian hip hop.

When young Richie’s grandpa shares his version of worldly wisdom, suggesting that to get a woman, a man must have money, Richie drafts up his own formula: money = peace & love. According to this scheme, if you want to make peace among the neighbourhood’s feuding Gypsy, Hungarian, Arab, Chinese and Ukrainian families, you need cash. And who has cash? People with oil, of course.

Richie and his pals build a time machine, go back to the Stone Age and arrange for mammoths to be buried on the future site of their ghetto. They then return to the present to reap the rewards. Naturally, they don’t pull off the scheme without a snag: the oil fields attract the ire of the international community including Vladimir Putin (who uses the district’s Russian hookers as spies), the Pope, President George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden (who is hiding out in the basement of a local falafel shop).

Director Áron Gauder’s animation is a fresh, hypnotic tangle of caricatured figures and textured layers. The raw, inimitable style complements this rambunctious, rough-and-tumble street story.

- Colin Geddes, Toronto International Film Festival

Nyócker Website

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From Nyócker:

The District's a mate, one of a kind,
You took a knock and lost your mind.
See this tale of the town unfold,
A house of cards in a land of gold.
You can't get lost, diggin' around,
If ya got the cash, you're safe and sound.
The cops down there don't fuck about,
Pay them off or just get out.
We all know where we belong,
Pimpin' and trickin' all day long.
Some new guy wants to get to the top
Don't cost much to give it a pop.
The gov'ment throws all sorts in 'ere,
Chinese, Arab, Gypsy, queer.
Everything looks grey and brown,
Take one card out and the lot falls down.
Cash makes a dash from hand to hand,
All addin' up in a promised land.
The shit we go through ev'ry day,
It's a bitch of a game, you wanna play?

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